3 Nov 2013

The statehood agitation in Darjeeling
since 1986 has caused Sikkim a massive loss of around Rs5,000 crore and
we wonder who will compensate the amount, asks chief minister Pawan
Kumar Chamling to both the West Bengal and Union governments.

Chamling said so this afternoon at
Bagdogra airport before flying off to New Delhi to meet central
ministers for a number of demands raised by his government. He said
Sikkim has always remained a victim to the statehood agitation in
neighbouring Darjeeling as there is only one road connection - National
Highway 31 – linking the state to the rest of the country and this road
passes through the Darjeeling region.

“I have brought forth matter with the
Bengal and Union governments several times but neither has listened to
us,” said the chief minister. “Hum chote pradesh ke hone se shayad najar
andaaj kiya hoga. Hume kitne baar sab ko namaskar kare? Darjeeling aur
Bangal sarkar dono ke saath goodwill banana parta hai (This must be due
to the fact we are from a small state. How many times do we need to
implore before them? We need to maintain goodwill with both Darjeeling
and the Bengal government).”

Chamling further said this time he will
seek an appointment with home minister Sushil Kumar Sindhe and discuss
the loss that Sikkim incurs due to the agitation in Darjeeling.

When asked about the recent developments
in Darjeeling and the development funds announced by his Bengal
counterpart Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister said, “As I am just a
neighbour, I can only send good wishes to both Darjeeling and Kolkata.
Chief minister Banerjee is doing good work, I pray for the further
development of West Bengal.”

When asked whether he intends to
continue as the chief minister after the next election, Chamling
replied, “It all depends upon the people of the state as to whether they
want me to continue or not. The people are the ultimate decision
makers, hence they have to decide and choose the ablest leader to rule
the state wisely. Votes should not be cast in the name of religion and
caste, but with the knowledge that an unsuitable leader will ruin the
state.”

Promising that Sikkim will become one of
the most developed states in the country over the next decade, Chamling
noted there are 201 insurgent groups active in India of which more than
100 are in the North East states alone, but Sikkim does not have even
one militant group.

The Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh has
rejected a proposal by the People’s Forum of nominating five candidates
for the forthcoming general elections. Terming the proposal
“meaningless”, BGP national president Dr. Enos Das Pradhan today said
there is no scope for considering it as the BGP is an apolitical body.

“The proposal made by the People’s Forum
is incorrect; this isn’t the way how candidates are selected. We cannot
make any comments on the issue as the BGP is not an organisation set up
to contest elections,” noted Pradhan.

On Friday, the People’s Forum had
proposed five names to the BGP to be put forward for the Darjeeling LS
seat under the Gorkhaland Task Force banner. It had named noted public
orator Arun Acharya, GTF secretary Munish Tamang, well-known journalists
Joel Rai and Swaraj Thapa and Forum president Gokul Sinha.

But the BGP straightaway rejected the
proposal saying, “The Forum has no authority to propose poll candidates
under the GTF banner.”

This comes in the wake of IGNOU pro
vice-chancellor Mahendra P. Lama announcing his candidature for the 2014
LS polls as an independent candidate from Darjeeling. The People’s
Forum had tried to suggest more candidate names to the Darjeeling LS
seat, but the BGP has brought its efforts to naught.

Pradhan said, “Our unit committees have
already expressed support to Mahendra P Lama. We are not at all
interested in pondering over other options.”

He added the BGP is neither for putting forward its own candidate nor is it ready to support any political party’s candidate.

2 Nov 2013

Gangtok, Nov. 1: Sikkim Trinamul
Congress president P.T. Lucksum today said party MPs from Bengal would
raise the issues affecting the Himalayan state in Parliament.

The Sikkim unit of Trinamul was formed in September.

“We met Trinamul
general secretary Mukul Roy and north Bengal development minister Gautam
Deb in Darjeeling recently. They told us that all issues related to
Sikkim would be taken up by Trinamul MPs in Parliament. The party MPs
can raise matters related to our state with the President also,”
Lucksum told journalists here.

Asked what issues
would be taken up by the Trinamul MPs in Parliament, Lucksum said: “We
are discussing the issues to be raised in Parliament and they will be
made public in the days to come. We will be putting forward the matters
before the MPs soon.”

Sikkim has two MPs, one in Lok Sabha and another in Rajya Sabha, and neither is from Trinamul.

The state general
secretary of Trinamul, Tshering Lepcha, said the party would contest the
next Assembly and Parliament elections from Sikkim.

“New faces will be
fielded for the elections in all the constituencies of Sikkim. We will
soon make our agenda for the polls public,” he added.

Sikkim has 32 Assembly seats.

“A party
delegation will be calling on the governor after Diwali and then we will
hold public meetings. We will be inviting leaders, including Bengal
chief minister Mamata Banerjee, to our public meetings,” Lepcha said.

Nov. 1: A Gorkha Janmukti Morcha
delegation was today denied permission twice to call on arrested GTA
Sabha member Binay Tamang in the Jalpaiguri district hospital.

First, health officials disallowed
three Morcha leaders from meeting Tamang around 11 in the morning,
citing the patient’s deteriorating condition.

Later in the
evening, the Morcha leaders went to the hospital armed with the
permission of the additional district magistrate. But this time, the
police personnel on duty outside Tamang’s room said the visit couldn’t
be allowed without the district police chief’s leave as the patient was
under their custody.

Tamang, arrested
on various charges and put up in Jalpaiguri correctional home in August,
had launched an indefinite fast on Wednesday to protest his
imprisonment and demand the speedy disposal of cases in courts. He was
admitted to the district hospital yesterday because of low blood
pressure.

However, Tamang
continued to refuse food and water and even saline injection,in the
hospital and was taken to the Intensive Critical Care Unit (ICCU)
yesterday afternoon.

Around 11am today,
Morcha vice-president R.P. Yaiba and central committee members Saran
Dewan and Binod Prakash Sharma reached the hospital and sought
permission to call on Tamang. They had a letter written by the Kurseong
MLA of the Morcha, who wanted the hospital authorities to let the trio
inside the ICCU.

“We were, however,
informed by the hospital superintendent that the chief medical officer
of health, Jalpaiguri, had rejected our plea on the pretext of Binay
Tamang’s precarious health conditions. We consider it as a unilateral
decision on the part of the health officials as the patient concerned is
our leader and we do have a right to visit him and check out his
condition. We have serious doubts regarding the kind of treatment Binay
Tamang is getting in the ICCU,” said Yaiba.

The Morcha delegates said they had come to visit Tamang on the instruction of party president Bimal Gurung.

Yaiba wanted to
know why Tamang had been taken from the district hospital yesterday
evening for admission to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital
in Siliguri and then brought back midway.

“The ambulance
carrying Tamang to the medical college was stopped mid-way and was
brought back to the district hospital. Then, he was admitted to the
ICCU. Why did the health officials take him out then? These are serious
issues and we want answers from the administration. The health
authorities are simply harassing him in the name of treatment,” said
Yaiba.

“Since he (Tamang)
had spent three days without food and water, his blood pressure has
gone down. Also, his body has become dehydrated and all metabolic
activities have stopped. As the patient is not ready to drink water or
take saline injection, his heath has become worse.We have formed a
medical board to observe his health and take appropriate steps,” said
Sarkar.

Asked about the
aborted move by the hospital authorities to shift Tamang to the NBMCH,
Sarkar said: “The patient was taken out for his admission to the NBMCH
because of some miscommunication. Whatever treatment he needs can be
provided in the district hospital.”

From the district
hospital, the Morcha trio went to the Jalpaiguri jail, where they met
other party leaders Kalyan Dewan and Ashok Lama.

Dewan, a GTA
executive member and Lama, a central committee member of the Morcha, had
been arrested and put behind bars for their alleged involvement in
incidents of arson, damage to public property and similar cases.

Around 6 in the evening, Yaiba, Dewan and Sharma met the additional district magistrate, seeking permission to meet Tamang.

Still, the trio couldn’t meet him.

“We went to the
hospital and informed the authorities that we had the permission to see
Tamang. We had also come to know that the hospital superintendent was
supposed to accompany us to the ICCU. However, the on-duty policemen at
the ICCU told us that unless we obtain permission from the
superintendent of police of Jalpaiguri, they would not let us in. We
felt disappointed and left the hospital without looking for the police’s
permission,” said the Morcha vice-president.

Noted academician Dr. Mahendra P Lama,
who has announced of contesting in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls as an
independent candidate, was today in Monsong for a meeting arranged by
his fan club.

On a self-campaign mission, Lama
stressed he wants not just people’s votes, but also their hearts and
minds. “You may be thinking I have come here to ask for votes. Yes,
that’s true, but I don’t want just that. I want your hearts and mind
too,” he said, adding, “I am not a political leader, I just want to work
as your representative.”

Championing the issues of all-around
development of the hills and the formation of a separate state as his
election agenda, Lama said the right arguments have to be placed at the
right places and at the right moments if a new state is to be achieved.
He lamented the failure of all the agitations for statehood till now.

It may be mentioned that Lama has
declined on forming a political party. The IGNOU Pro-Vice Chancellor
said it is necessary to first take the statehood demand to Parliament.

“Parliament is the apex place where laws
and policies are formed,” he said. “But unfortunately, we have not been
able to witness our demand being raised in that august house.”

The academician also criticised the
state government for keeping Darjeeling away from development. “It is
only after 67 years of independence that the state government is talking
about developing the hills.” He said a separate state means vesting of
both political power and development schemes in the hands of the people
here and also the development of international trade as the Darjeeling
hills share boundaries with four nations.

Further, Lama slammed regional political
parties for failing to understand the meaning of development.
“Development does not merely mean construction of roads, tunnels and
culverts. The place needs a perennial source of income,” he remarked.

Asserting unemployment in the hills has
multiplied over the past 30 years, he claimed nearly 80,000 to 1 lakh
new employment opportunities can be generated within six months if a
separate state comes into being.

Speaking on the current political
scenario in the Darjeeling hills, Lama denounced incidents of political
violence describing them as counteractive. He also alleged leaders lack
strategy and are leading the movement as a “political business”. He
urged everyone to engage in healthy political criticisms and debate and
to come together to build up a progressive political environment. The
academician noted it is important to make the residents of the Terai and
Dooars more aware of the essence and benefits a separate state.
According to Lama, “A separate state will be incomplete without the
Terai-Dooars and Siliguri.”

He went on to say that the state
government must initiate the development of an area as a whole instead
of forming development boards for selected communities as doing so means
nothing but creating division among the hill people. Lama said the
Kolkata should form development boards for all communities of the hills
simultaneously if it is serious about development of the tribal
communities. He also demanded the transfer of the Darjeeling Tea Auction
Centre to the Dooars from Kolkata.

The Darjeeling Terai-Dooars United
Development Foundation will soon be launched officially to continue with
the poll campaigning, announced Lama. He also appealed to all to attend
his public meeting in Sukna on November 9.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leadership is
reportedly planning to meet Governor MK Narayanan who is currently on
an 18-day visit to the Darjeeling hills. The leaders intend to seek his
intervention in getting arrested party leaders and activists released.

Sources from within the GJM said the
arrest and judicial custody of the leaders is a matter of grave concern
and needs to be addressed at the earliest.

“Now that relations between the GJM and
state government have warmed up again, party supporters are getting
frustrated seeing no sign of the release of their leaders and
‘sabhasads’ and this could take a bad turn for the future of the party,”
said one of the GJM sources.

More the 2,000 GJM activists including
senior leaders and 12 sabhasads have been arrested since July 29, when a
fresh round of agitation for statehood was launched by the Morcha.

GJM assistant secretary Jyoti Kumar Rai
revealed about plans of some party representatives to meet the governor
during his stay in Darjeeling.

“We will definitely try and meet the
governor as per his convenience. However, as we are all busy with party
activities including taking stock of the contentious issue of the
release of our leaders and supporters, we hope to sit down soon after
‘Tihar’ (Diwali) and request for some time with the governor,” he said.

GJM assistant secretary Binay Tamang,
who is also a GTA executive member, has launched an indefinite hunger
strike since Wednesday at the Jalpaiguri correctional home demanding
bail as he alleges false charges have been framed against him.

Tamang’s health condition has deteriorated and he is presently hospitalised.

Tamang was elected on September 27 to
head the GTA as the chief executive’s post was lying vacant since Bimal
Gurung’s resignation on July 30. But as Tamang’s bail plea got rejected,
the GJM was hard-pressed to appoint GTA deputy chief executive Col
(Retd) Ramesh Allay to the post on a temporary basis.

Narayanan today inaugurated a community
hall in Mim Tea estate under Sukhaypokhari block is in Darjeeling since
October 27 and is expected to remain till November 14.

The governor’ visit to Darjeeling
coincides with Diwali and President Pranab Mukherjee’s proposed visit
here on November 10. District administration sources said Narayanan will
receive the President when the latter arrives to attend a programme at a
reputed English school in Darjeeling.

The
Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh has begun campaigns to connect youths to the
organisation. It held an interactive programme today with likeminded
youths here at the Gorkha Dukha Niwarak Sammellan Hall in the presence
of BGP National president Dr. Enos Das Pradhan and Kalimpong unit
secretary Pravakar Dewan, among others.

The event, which was attended by a large
number of youths, also discussed about the formation of a BGP youth
wing and this was welcomed unanimously.

Stating that the youth wing will be
formed after detailed discussions are completed, Dewan said, “We are
glad to see many youths are willing to work with the BGP. Their
participation will add energy to the organisation. We will go ahead with
launching the youth wing soon after discussing it in detail.” He added
the youths will be able to contribute significantly to the Gorkha rally
in Delhi in December.

1 Nov 2013

Darjeeling, Oct. 31: A rice
distribution event for the poor became a venue of political tussle today
when Morcha civic councillors objected to the presence of a
Trinamul-nominated GTA Sabha member.

The event was
organised by the state food and supplies department and the Darjeeling
municipality, which is dominated by the Morcha, and saw in Milan Dukpa’s
presence a Trinamul tactic to interfere in government events.

The row has
happened when Trinamul is trying to fill a political void as the Morcha
has no tough opposition in the region. The party launched its GTA
employees’ union recently and some Morcha members have switched to the
state’s ruling party in some hill pockets.

None of this has
gone down well with the Morcha. The hill party-dominated GTA has made
peace with the state government for now but today’s row reflects the
tension in the Morcha because of Trinamul’s forays.

Dukpa, who left
the municipality building after Morcha councillors protested today, said
he had been invited by the district controller of food and supplies
department.

A Morcha
councillor alleged that Trinamul was trying to politicise a government
programme. “Such politicisation of government programmes is not
acceptable to us. Not only Dukpa, but his supporters also came to the
event. They said they would send us to jail.”

Dukpa said he had no intention of politicising the event.

The distribution is an annual event organised to commemorate World Food Day that is on October 16.

The event wasn’t held on October 16 this year as it was the day of Id.

“I, along with
vice-chairman (Suk Bahadur Biswakarma), distributed rice to a few
beneficiaries and then, we left for a meeting. In the middle of the
meeting, we were informed that Milan Dukpa had come to the event without
informing the municipality and started distributing rice,” Rai said.
“We went to the conference hall of the municipality and stopped the
distribution. We protest this unwanted interference by Trinamul,” he
said.

Dukpa said: “I had
yesterday gone down to Siliguri to meet the district controller of the
food and supplies department to raise certain issues regarding
distribution of kerosene in the hills. It was then that the controller
invited me to the programme.

B.N. Sarkar, the district food controller, denied inviting Dukpa to the event.

Dukpa said: “When I
reached the municipality, the officials asked me to distribute rice. I
distributed rice to about 12-13 beneficiaries after which councillors
protested my presence.”

Kalimpong, Oct 30:
Away from the regular speech from political icons everyday, the general
people of this hamlet town found anew set of orators at Tricone Park
giving in a full house audience to find deep grievances on political
situation, social issues and many more through poems penned by budding
poets of the sub-division. Reciting
poems on public places is not generally the facade of the hills and with
budding poets taking the cue on Wednesday attracting full house
audience showed the people’s frustration listening to the same speech on
politics everyday. This correspondent who witnessed the programme
totally saw that even people who did keep low interest on poems stopped
for a brief period to hear the poets recite their piece one after other.
Budding poets like D.K. Waiba, Pradeep Lohagun, Chewang Yonzone, Manoj
Rai,Yam Tamang, Dhiren Sangarsh, Sandeep Khulung, Sibu Chettri, Madna
Lepcha and Gebu Lepcha were some of the poets who recited the poems. “It
is something different that we are witnessing in decades. Everyone
knows that the hills have been witnessing the political activities
everyday. In reality the people do not want always to hear political
speech. The recitation of poems reflecting current political situation
and social traumas was awesome on this very day,” said a listener during
the prgramme. Many political however also lined up to the hear the
pieces including Dr. Enos Das Pradhan, the National president of
Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh and R. Moktan .(kalimpongnewsexpress.blogspot.in/)